Canadiens top Rangers to take series lead
NEW YORK -- Alexander Radulov had a goal and an assist, and the Montreal Canadiens used a suffocating defense to beat the New York Rangers 3-1 in Game 3 of their first-round series at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night.
The Canadiens hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Confernce series that resumes Tuesday night.
Canadiens goaltender Carey Price made 20 saves. His shutout was spoiled by Brady Skjei with 2:56 remaining and Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist on the bench for an extra attacker.
Artturi Lehkonen and Shea Weber also had goals for the Canadiens.
Lundqvist made 26 saves.
Lundqvist kept the game scoreless in the first period, as he made several point-blank stops among his 10 saves during the opening 20 minutes while Price only had to make six saves.
The Canadiens got on the scoreboard late in the second period with a power-play goal.
The Rangers' J.T. Miller was whistled for a faceoff violation in the offensive zone, as he put his hand on the puck after he fell to the ice. The Canadiens had a hard time generating much on the power play but a quick passing play led to Lehkonen's goal at 17:37.
Tomas Plekanec moved the puck to the goal line to Brendan Gallagher while Lehkonen created space for himself in the slot. Gallagher passed the puck to Lehkonen, who roofed a shot over Lundqvist's glove to make it 1-0 Canadiens.
Weber's power-play goal at 7:42 of the second period gave the Canadiens a 2-0 lead. With Mats Zuccarello serving a four-minute penalty for high sticking, Weber took a feed from Alex Galchenyuk deep in the Rangers zone and one-timed the puck past Lundqvist's stick side.
Radulov put the game away with 4:25 remaining with a brilliant individual effort. He shielded the puck from the Rangers' Kevin Hayes and, with one hand on his stick, worked the puck around Lundqvist for his second goal of the series to make it 3-0.
NOTES: Canadiens D Alexei Emelin (lower body) missed his third game in the series. He is back in Montreal and considered day-to-day. Emelin has not played since April 5. ... The Canadiens made one lineup change from Game 2, scratching D Nikita Nesterov and inserting D Brandon Davidson. ... Rangers D Nick Holden was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. He was replaced by D Kevin Klein. ... The Rangers have lost six straight playoff games at home dating to the 2015 Eastern Conference final.